Heart & Soul
by White Silence
Summary: Just when they thought they’d gotten a handle on River’s abilities, she up and surprised them again. A one hundred word drabble series inspired by the song Heart & Soul. Prerayne. COMPLETE
1. Prelude

**I. PRELUDE**

Just when they thought they'd gotten a handle on River's abilities, she up and surprised them again. This time, she'd gone to the junkyard with Kaylee and returned with a box full of parts.

"Those don't look like engine bits to me, Albatross." said Mal "What's all this for?"

"You'll see." She replied lightly. "Kaylee, may I borrow your soldering gun?"

"Oh sure! Ya got enough wire?"

"Wait a minute here!" exclaimed Mal. "I mighta changed the rules 'bout givin' River guns but that don't include soldering guns!"

River giggled as she walked away. "Silly captain, you'll like this surprise."

* * *

A/N: Um yes, I have nothing better to do. And yes, I can write fluff, try not to faint. Actually, this was brought on by my friend trying to get me to play a certain song with him while we were in the Mac store. I am not a pianist but I guess River is. There are eight drabbles written but I may add more if I can get the other character's voices right in my head.

I dedicate this series to curikitten, whom I appear to have traumatized with my last one. :D


	2. Sforzando

**II. SFORZANDO**

Two weeks later everyone had forgotten about her box of parts, except maybe Kaylee since River had to borrow tools from someone. After clearing up the galley one evening, they'd all settled down for a quiet evening in the Black, reading or having a nice conversation or, in Jayne's case, cleaning weaponry, when they were suddenly interrupted by a loud, blaring chord and a shout coming from the cockpit. Fearing the worst, they stampeded onto the cramped bridge.

Instead of warnings of impending disaster, they found River happily running her fingers up and down the keys of an electric keyboard.

* * *

Sforzando - a sudden loud accent 


	3. Solo I River

**Solo I: Cambiare - River**

The piano hadn't been River's best instrument but she felt the technique and memorized songs coming back to her as she played. And with them came the memories. Her mother and father dancing in the music room while she practiced, playing simple pieces with Simon, who wasn't musically inclined, laughing with her piano instructor, her favorite because he had never let her genius bother him.

Some days, though, the memories were too painful and she thought about destroying it but everyone else enjoyed listening so she played them to sleep every night, the walls of Serenity echoing with beautiful music.


	4. Solo II Jayne

**Solo II: Ostinato - Jayne**

Jayne's ma had accompanied the church choir when he was growing up. They'd had an old piano at home so she could practice during the week. Monday through Saturday, he'd throw open the front door to be greeted by scales and arpeggios as his ma warmed up her hands. She'd pull him onto the bench next to her and they'd play together.

When he shipped out, he'd found he couldn't let go of those afternoons with his ma but there was no way a big tough merc could carry around even a small keyboard so he'd picked up the guitar.


	5. Solo III Inara

**Solo III: A Capella - Inara**

Inara hadn't been to a real concert hall since leaving Sihnon. The only thing close was a minor performance of the Bach Double she'd attended with her first client on Persephone. She hadn't liked it. Since then, her world had been strangely bereft of music. That wasn't to say she hadn't heard any, the ensemble at the Guild house on Worthington, live bands at parties she'd attended, recordings downloaded from the Cortex.

But it wasn't until she lay in her shuttle listening to the notes of _Für Elise_ echo through _Serenity_'s hold that she realized how much she'd missed it.


	6. Solo IV Mal

**Solo IV: Fermata - Mal**

Mal had never been to a concert hall, never even set foot near one. There had been a time when he'd wanted to but the closest he'd been was the town hall on Shadow. His ma had dragged him to a Core-bound neighbor kid's last recital.

These days all he needed was _Serenity_. The ship was his symphony, the engine setting the tempo, Simon and Kaylee providing the rhythm while Jayne's bass line constantly went off beat, Zoë's nightly lament playing counterpoint to River's lilting melody. He wasn't sure where Inara fit but he thought she might be his harmony.


	7. Solo V Zoe

**Solo V: Requiem - Zoe**

Zoë had grown up in the silence of space, though she hadn't realized just how silent it was until she heard Wash's laughter. She'd hated the way it made her ears ring when it echoed around the ship, loud and raucous. But when she realized it was his laughter that bound her heart to his, she missed it when it didn't.

Now that he was gone, she found herself constantly listening for his joyous laugh but all she heard was a resounding silence and not even the haunting notes of River's starlight sonatas could fill the chasm in her heart.


	8. Solo VI Kaylee

**Solo VI: Allegro – Kaylee**

Kaylee had always been able to hear the flow of life in everything around her but she heard the mechanical things best. It was usually a cacophony, machines whispering their aches and pains to her. When Bester first brought her onboard for a good time, she'd heard the engine crying, just hadn't known why exactly, until she was lying on the floor. Since then, all she needed to do was listen to _Serenity_'s sweet voice tell her what needed fixing.

Then Simon and River had come and everything got muddied up and she couldn't hear her girl so clearly anymore.


	9. Solo VII Simon

**Solo VII: Cadenza - Simon**

Simon had always marched to the drummer's beat, a simple cadence that cycled through his life, repetitive, safe. He followed his path of filial piety and became one of the best surgeons in the Core. Then River's letters started coming

He'd had a choice to make. Break from formation or keep his eyes to the front. But all he'd seen ahead of him were boot prints three generations deep and he couldn't let his sister fall behind. Only, there'd been no beat to follow, no rhythm out in the Black. With Kaylee though, he found he could live with that.


	10. Tremolo

**IV. TREMOLO**

He watched her from the shadows. She'd managed to find more keys during their last stops dirtside, making her little keyboard a full concert grand. It was too long to fit in the bridge now so she sat in the hold, keyboard balanced across two crates and played sonatas and concertos, minuets and lullabies. She seemed happy enough, but every night she would end with the same song that always sounded like it was missing something.

One day, he realized what it was. His fingers twitched with the memory of the missing part, took half a step before stopping himself.


	11. Duet

**V. DUET**

Every night she played the melody, light and whimsical, a lonely hopscotch across the keys. Then one day, a beating rhythm joined her, a sure and steady hand as the melody skipped across the hold. Together, they soared, up and out, into the Black before gently touching down.

She turned to him, catching the memory in his eyes. He met her gaze, daring her to wound. She smiled instead and, quick as a wink, kissed him softly on the cheek. By the time he'd recovered, only her voice remained.

"_That little kiss you stole, held all my heart and soul."_ _  
_


End file.
